Guest Contributor #6: Chloe Waryan

1. What is a movie that you think people should know about that speaks to you?

The Birds is my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film. I know it really should be Rear Window or Psycho or even Rebecca. And honestly, Rear Window is a close second, but I always have to be in the mood to watch it. With The Birds, I can literally put it on anytime. Most people are like, “don’t bother, it’s not scary, it’s just puppets,” I’m here to tell you that The Birds is s-c-a-r-y and also very genius. I saw it when I was probably about 10 years old, watching all the Hitchock movies I could find, and I fell deeply in love with everything about it. Unlike Hitch’s other films, The Birds is capital-g Genre Film, with supernatural scifi elements as well as his trademark psychological themes. Since then, I watch The Birds almost every year and I never get sick of it. 

Based on a short story by Daphne DuMaurier, The Birds follows a rich socialite Melanie (Tippi Hendren) as she cleverly cons her way into chatting up a cutie patootie named Mitch (Rod Taylor) at a pet shop. Mitch is looking for lovebirds to give to his sister Cathy for her 11th birthday. Melanie ends up finding Mitch’s address in Bodega Bay, a small coastal town where everyone knows everyone. The character is able to talk her way into getting Mitch’s address, not because of her status or class (though her good looks probably play into it), but because she’s super good at practical jokes. What fun! But then, the birds arrive.

Pretty soon, Bodega Bay cannot ignore the bird attacks any longer. The townspeople gather in the diner chatting about what it all could mean. One woman (an ornithologist) refuses to believe it’s even happening, while the town barfly drunkenly quotes scripture. The radio has also been reporting on the bird attacks. This scene in particular reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode, but never feels too long, slow, or bloated. Watching this scene for the first time was when I realized that I love supernatural character-driven horror. This was also part in the film where the audience gets to breathe and reflect. I recall watching this as a kid, thinking: ok, there’s not going to be music in this movie, only birds. There are no monsters, just birds. There is no blood (except for a man with his eyes pecked out for like 3 or 4 frames). And that potentially, there may not be an ending, either. It’s birds all the way down. Or, I guess all the way up, into the sky. It’s the end of the world after all.

I am aware of the mistreatment of Tippi Hendren during the making of this film, and I hate that it happened to her. No one should ever have to deal with any sort of harassment at work, and her’s was especially horrific. I’m glad that she had the courage to speak out (and that Rod Taylor backed her up). When I first saw The Birds, Paris Hilton was really big, as was early reality television like The Bachelor and The Simple Life. Because of this, I’ve always associated the character of Melanie with Paris. I still think Paris could play her in a remake, but Tippi Hendren brings a fragile confidence to the character that would be hard to replicate. I’m fascinated by characters who are set up to seem quite shallow on the surface, but are actually quite complex. Again, Melanie is this subversion of stereotypes and self-awareness. 

I’d be surprised if The Birds passes the Bechdel test, but it does something that only one other movie in recent memory seems to do. The film follows 3 generations of women and their relationships around a single man: Melanie the potential lover, his kid sister Cathy (Veronica Cartright), his mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy), and ex-girlfriend/schoolteacher Annie (Suzanne Pleshette). The women possess non-gendered traits (rare for characters at the time), and each contribute to the narrative in a very specific way. Despite having tension with one another, there is no hesitation about banding together during a time of trial, which is still uncharacteristic in horror movies! When one falters, the others are constantly lifting them up (sometimes literally), while Mitch is boring and absolutely useless, except for, like, driving a car. I have so much more to say, but I’ll leave it at that. For the smart self-awareness of the female characters, I highly recommend The Birds. Give it a rewatch if you haven’t seen it recently.

2. What is a favorite song that made you excited to explore a band / artist's career further? What is about that song that resonates so strongly?

One day in math class, my high school bestie Ruth started singing “dear catastrophe waitress, dear catastrophe waitress” under their breath. Ruth’s cool older sister who was in art school(!!) had been listening to this Scottish group Belle & Sebastian around the house. I remember being confused because it sounded like Ruth was chanting the lyrics, not singing. There was no way I could pick out the melody of the song without instrumentals. But they told me it was super catchy and they couldn’t get it out of their head. So after a week or so of chanting “dear catastrophe waitress, dear catastrophe waitress” alongside Ruth, I asked for a mix cd. 

Belle and Sebastian was one of my first forays into indie pop, which colored my teenage experience, coming of age in the “manic pixie dream girl” era of 2000’s art and culture. I am also a sucker for musicians who don’t sing conventionally well, so I like the little imperfections of their melodies and the softness of any given Belle & Sebastian songs. Knowing this band made me feel special, as it was referenced in music-snob movies like High Fidelity and (500) Days of Summer. B&S was also on the Juno soundtrack, a soundtrack I listened to many times, which made me fall in love with Velvet Underground, Buddy Holly, and Sonic Youth. From there, I discovered indie bands that used instruments like trumpet and cello to add a certain timelessness to their sound like B&S did, like Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire. Dear Catastrophe Waitress was B&S’ first pop album, while the ones before were a bit more subdued, folksy, dark, etc. DCW felt happy, while still being a bit moody. What can I say, I love pop. And when I listen to it, I feel like a wistful teen again. 

In 2019, I was lucky enough to see Belle & Sebastian perform the entirety of their greatest album If You’re Feeling Sinister at Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. I remember looking around, seeing my coworkers from the teen department of the library, just crying their fucking eyes out. Other audience members brought their kids, who were enjoying it as much as we were. It made me feel old, but also grateful. B&S were one band that I had completely given up on seeing live, since they rarely toured in the US, so seeing them in 2019 was a dream come true. I have an ongoing lighthearted argument with my partner about Dear Catastrophe Waitress being the best Belle & Sebastian album. While I’ve learned to appreciate If You’re Feeling Sinister as the definitive best, DCW still holds such a special place in my heart. So thank you, Ruthie. I miss you.

3. What does your perfect comfort meal consist of?

For my 30th birthday, I ordered about $200 worth of pizza all from different Chicago restaurants. I asked my guests to score the pizzas with custom scorecards in order to find out which restaurant actually had the best pizza in Chicago. It wasn’t scientific by any means. We had all sorts of mismatched dietary restrictions. My partner and his best friend even made a few pizzas from scratch to go against some of the staples, including the infamous taco pizza.

Let me back up here. Back when I lived in Iowa, I was part of a club affectionately called Pizza Jerks. We would try to go to every pizza place within an hour’s drive of our small college town. The only rule was that we had to be able to sit down at the restaurant. We eventually made it to all the pizza places but it took literally years. You’re able to get taco pizza at any restaurant in Iowa. It is a regional staple, found at chains like Casey’s General Store as well as mom & pop shops. It was one of our “control” pizzas that we ordered at every restaurant during Pizza Jerks. 

That being said, taco pizza is my favorite type of pizza in the whole world and a huge reason of why I can’t go full vegan. In Chicago, you can only get taco pizza at one or two restaurants. So, I’ve learned to make it! Or rather, I ask my partner (who used to own a pizza restaurant) to make it for me. It’s no surprise that the homemade taco pizza won at my birthday party by a landslide (second place was Paulie Gee’s). Needless to say, I could easily eat pizza for every meal. Currently seeking Pizza Jerks in Chicago (a fool’s errand). 

4. What is something that moves you to tears (film, song, book, anything)?

The videos from Los Angeles-based animator Miyoung Kim’s A Day of Us YouTube channel consistently moves me to tears. It details the everyday activities of an animated cat and a dog. The video of the cat and the dog sharing dumplings with each other made me cry harder than I’ve ever cried before. The episode is called Dumpling Time, and I won’t ever watch it again. I can’t even think about it without welling up. The fact that I’m writing about it now shows how brave I am >_<

Kim says that she is most inspired by the mundane kindness between her and her partner. “He does small things like putting his food on my plate, cleaning up a spot where I’m going to sit or covering the spot with a small handkerchief, remembering all the trivial things I said, and keeping the promises he made with me,” she says. I wish more people did this– in marriages, friendships, or relationships of any sort.

Chloe Waryan (she/they) is a writer and a librarian based in Chicago. Her writing on horror has been published in Certified Forgotten, Flip Screened, and Chicago Public Library’s staff picks and blog. Chloe holds a Masters degree in Information Science and a Bachelor’s degree in English, both from the University of Iowa. In her spare time, you can find Chloe biking around Chicago, listening to podcasts, and cooking. You can keep up with her writing projects on her blog chloesnotscared.com or follow her on Instagram and at her new Substack: